Bathtub construction



June 29, 1937. C, WEBER 2,085,559

BATHTUB CONSTRUCTION Filed sept. 18, 193e 5 Shens-s'neet 1 June 29,'1937. c. WEBER BATHTUB CONSTRUCTION Filed sept. 18, 193e 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 29, 1937. c. WEBER -BATHTUB CONSTRUCTION Filed sept. 1s, 193e 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 In ver? Zfor4 Oar! Web er' `Patented June 29, 1937 u UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE 13 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and novel combination bath tub construction and curtain and `suspension and guide means therefor, and is di rected particularly to Aa new, practical andinexpensive tub having novel and practical features ypermitting `the removable attachment and suspension into the normally outer side thereof of the shower curtain.

It is a well known fact that in the use of con- 10 ventional shower devices and shower curtains in present bath rooms, especially in hotels, that the users, when using the shower either push outwardly or permit the lower portion of a slidable curtain to hang outwardly of the tub with the l5 result that very frequently considerable water runs upon the floor of the bath room into the room proper with material damage to floors and furnishings as well as the bath room walls.

In numerous other cases guest users fill the cnA bath tub to the level of the overflow discharge permitting the bath curtain to hang partly in the bath water with the result that the floating soap and dirt adheres to the bath tulo curtain and dries thereon requiring very frequent laundering and replacement of the curtain with consequent expense. My invention entirely eliminates the possibility of eitherof these expensive and very frequent incidents. These prime objects `and elimination of waste, dirt, workand curtain replacement is accomplished by my invention in any one of the forms which I hereinafter illustrate.

An important object of my inventionV s the provision of a bath tub of novel and practical design having a substantially flat bottom combottom and a longitudinally extending upwardly opening in said grooved panel in one longitudinal wall thereof, said groove permitting the lowerend therein or to be releasably attached therein `to prevent said curtain from being pulled out and objectionably flapping in the water contained in the tub, thereby becoming dirty and likewise to prevent said curtain from being pulled outwardly vision of a bath tub having a Ysubstantially flat of a shower curtain to be either loosely suspended to hang outside of the tub, thereby preventing the well known and frequent dripping of the water from the curtain on the bathroom floor.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a bath tub having a groove provided along one wall therein having drain outlet means from said groove either into the normal drain system directly or into the tub itself and a pair of vertical suspended rods having means engaging an upper and a lower spaced apart guide rod, the flexible curtain being removably attached to said rods to provide for convenient mounting and dismounting for laundering, the lower of said rods optionally being within said groove of said bath tub. l

Other and further objects of my invention will be apparent from the following description and claims.

My following drawings are an illustrative embodiment of myinvention and form a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is aside elevational view showing a bath tub mounted between two spaced apart walls in the'usual manner, the side elevational view of the tub being similar to that of the conventional tub, and showing the manner in which the flexible curtain may be suspended.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partially cross sectional view taken on line v3--3 of Fig. 2 through the outer wall of the tub and also showing a portion of the curtain in suspended position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the goose-necked drain conduit showing a float backwater valve therein.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view through the center of the tub showing a slightly modified form wherein the drain outlets from the longitudinal channel of the outer bath tub wall are formed in said wall todischarge into the interior ofthe tubi.

Referring to Figs. lV and 2, reference numeral Il) designates a tub which in horizontal cross section `is substantially rectangular and which has opposing longitudinal walls Il and I2 substantially as shown. Said tub l!) is illustrated in Fig. 1 as mounted between vertical walls I3 and I3 upon a conventional floor I4 and having the usual drain outlet pipe l5 leading from a bottom drain port 15a and an overflow drain outlet port l6`substantially near the upper periphery of the tub at one end thereof, which said drain outlet Il is connected with a conventional drain system in conventional manner by means of the downwardly extending drain pipe I6 to which drain pipe I5 is also connected and which leads into the building drain system.

As clearly shown in Fig. 2, it will be noted that the longitudinal side wall of the tub I is not perpendicular to the bath tub bottom designated by the reference. numeral I1 and is in a position of an acute angle with respect to said bottom and forming a relatively sharp curve I1w at the juncture at said side wall I I and bottom I1. An important object of myinvention is the safety features thereof which include arelatively fiat bottom extending substantially across the'entire tub, this eliminating the frequent foot slippage and frequent accidents caused by users slipping upon the sloping bottom of the tub either when stepping thereinto or at other times.4

As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the bottom I1 forms a sharp curve at its juncture with the integral outer wall I2, which said wall I2 extends vertically but inclined inwardly a distance equal to substantially one-half the depth of the tub,v

thence is bent or turned back upon itself to form relatively narrow upper inner rim I2b` which is preferably in a plane slightly lower than the outer periphery of the tub. Said wall I2 extends downwardly and thence again upwardly to form a relatively deep compartment or groove I 8 extending from one end of the tub to the other, that is substantially the entire length of the tub, as clearly indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l and in cross section in Fig. 3. Said wall I2 is further bent and formed to form the outer tub rim I2c in a plane substantially coinciding with the entire tub rim, and thence extends vertically downwardly to form vertical wall portion IZd to a point a short distance from the tub supporting surface where said vertical wall is bent to form a sharp curve 12d and in a horizontal direction to meet the inner curved portion of the tub and thence the edge of said wall I2 is bentat right angles and downwardly to form wall portion .I2e which may preferably rest upon the bath supporting surface.

It is to be borne in mind that while the illustration of the drawings which has just been described describes a tub formed of a relatively strong metal, suitably enameled, that a similar construction presenting identical surfaces and embodying the same structural features may be formed from a tub made, cast or moulded from well known plastic mixtures which include clay and other suitable workable type'of earth in combination with known binding ingredients such as plaster, cements, and the like. I have illustrated in Fig. 8 a cross sectional view of a tub of similar construction made for example from clay, cements and other known materials such as used in making earthenware and bath room fixtures and which are suitably baked and finished during their process of manufacture.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it will be noted that I form the longitudinal groove I8 of substantial depth and sloping downwardly toward the drain end of the tub so that water dripping from the curtain into said groove I8 will quickly run by gravity therefrom. At the lower and drain end of groove I8 and between the wall sections I2a and I2d I provide a goose-neck drain pipe I9, the upper end of which is suitably threaded in the drain outlet 28 at the lower end of groove I8, the opposite end of said goose-neck being suitably connected to the downwardly extending overflow pipe I6. In the form of Figs4 1 and 3 a pearshaped enlarged portion 2| is formed in said goose-necked drain pipe which contains an elongated tapered float valve. 2 la which is of a size to seat, when elevated and floated, against the annular internal shoulder of said pear-shaped enlarged portion to act as a stop plug and back-water valve to prevent water entering groove I8 from the overflow drain pipe I5', the object of such stoppage being to prevent soap, dirt and foreign particles from entering groove I8 and adhering and accumulating upon the walls thereof when the bath tub is lled to the overflow outlet IE.

As shown in Figs. l and 3, I illustrate one of a number of manners in which a flexible curtain of fabric or other flexible material may be suspended for sliding movement, so that one of its ends seats in and engages an annular recess 33 shown at the right of Figs. 2 and 3 and its opposite end removably seats and is secured with an L-shaped recessed slot 34 shown at the left of Fig. 4. In this particular form, to which I do not limit myself, a horizontal cross bar 25 is mounted in a pair of suitable wall plates 26 which are fastened on opposing walls of the bathroom opposite each other. Flexible shower curtain 21 is loosely suspended on bar 25 by means of suitable rings 21a of wood, metal or composition or other suitable material, which are slidable on said bar 25. The opposite normally vertical edges of shower curtain 21 have attached thereto spaced apart rings 21a., which are preferably a detachable type. Said loops on the opposite ends of said curtain are adapted to encircle vertical bars 28 and 29 respectively, one of said bars being at each end of said curtain. Said bars 28 and 28 have suitable eyelets 38 at both ends of each thereof, the upper of said eyelets being of a size to encircle and be slidable along bar 25 to provide for convenient drawing and folding of said curtain in the desired position.

In the preferred illustration of Fig. l, the lower end of said curtain also has suitable loops or rings 21e in spaced apart position along the lower edge thereof, said loops being adapted to encircle and slidably engage the lower horizontal rod 3| which lies within groove I8 and longitudinally thereof and which has its ends removably engaging supporting recessed slots 33 and 34. The eyelets 38 in the lower ends of the two vertical extending bars 29 are adapted to encircle and slide on horizontal bar 32.

It will be apparent with the foregoing construction the lower end of the curtain will be removably and slidably retained within groove I8; that any water falling or splashing thereon will fall into said groove and drain therefrom; that the lower end of the curtain will be maintained out of contact with the floating soap and dirt of the tub water and that no water will be permitted to splash either from the shower or the tub upon the floor or other supporting surface. Further, when the bathtub is filled to the level of overflow, the discharged dirty water will not enter groove I8 due to the fact that float valve 2Id will risey and prevent the water from backing up to groove I8.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a tub of similar construction to that heretofore described, illustrating however a less eX- pensive method of retaining the lower portion of the shower curtain within the groove I8. In this construction, shower curtain 21 has its lower edge doubled back and stitched to form hem 36 through which a rod of suitable size is slipped, and thence the curtain and inserted rod is dropped into Vgrouve I8 wherein the rod 32 holds l thesame by gravity.

'jlilig.V 8 is a cross-sectional `and partially fragmentaryview.` illustrating a tub having walls of similar construction a's'that heretofore described,

with the modiiication `that means for draining groove |8 comprises. a plurality of spaced vapart elongatedslotsorapertures 31 whichform communication `passages between the bottom of groove |8Aand the inside of thetub. In this form,

the. drain pipe I9 and drain port 2t are entirely' omitted, it being apparent that the water will drain directly from groove I8 into the tub proper.

`extending wall and a rounded upper periphery,

said relatively thick wall having a longitudinal upwardly extending groove therein to provide for reception and retention of the lower end of a curtain or the like.

2. A bath tub having a relatively flat bottom and one longitudinal wall thereof extending inwardly and thence outwardly to form a rounded rim, and having the opposite longitudinal wall of relatively thick construction, said relatively thicker wall having a relatively deep longitudinally grooved panel therein extending substantially from one end of said tub to the other to `provide for reception of the lower end of a curtain or the like and to provide a guard for said curtain.

3, A bath tub having a relatively flat bottom and one longitudinal wall thereof extending inwardly and thence outwardly to form a rounded rim, and having the opposite longitudinal wall of relatively thick construction, said relatively thicker wall having a relatively deep longitudinally grooved panel therein extending substantiallyfrom one end of said tub to the otherto provide for reception of the lower end of a curtain or th'e like andto provide a guard for said curtain, said longitudinally extending groove being inclined toward one end of said tub and have ing drain outlet means extending through said thicker wall.

4. A bath tub having a relatively iiat bottom, a drain outlet port andan overflow port and having opposed longitudinal walls, one of said walls being relatively thick and having a relatively 66 deep longitudinally extending groove opening `upwardly andforming a double walled portion on opposite sides of said groove, the walled portion between said groove and the interior of the tub extending to a lesser height than the outer portion of said wall.

5. A bath tub having a relatively flat bottom, a drain outlet port and an overflow port and having opposed longitudinal walls, one of said walls being relatively thick and having a relatively deep longitudinally extending groove opening upwardly and forming a double walled portion on opposite sides of said groove, the walled portion between saidgroove and the interior of the tub extending to a lesser height thanthe outer portion of said wall, said groove being inclined and having a drain outlet port at the lower end'thereof and a drain outlet conduit connectingsaid groove drain port and extending exteriorly of the tub.

6. A bathtub having substantially opposed ends and opposite longitudinal side walls, one of said side wallsbeingv slightly inclined inwardly toward the tub periphery, the other oi said longitudinal side wallshavin'g a relatively tipped downwardly extendingupwardly opening groove longitudinally thereof to provid-e a guarded compartment for the reception and retention of a shower curtain edge, the upper portion of said grooved side wall between said groove and the inside of the tub being adapted to prevent water entry from said tub into said groove.

7 A bathtub having substantially opposed ends and opposite longitudinal side walls, one of said side walls being slightly inclined inwardly toward the tub periphery, the other of said longitu dinal side walls having a relatively tipped downwardly extending upwardly opening groove longitudinally thereof to provide a guarded compartment for the reception and retention of a shower curtain edge, the upper portion of said grooved side wall between said groove and the inside of the tub being adapted to prevent water entry from said tub into said groove, said groove being inclined in one direction, and drain means connecting the lower end of said groove with a drain system.

8. In a bathtub having substantially vertical ends and drain ports, opposed longitudinal walls formed integrally with said tub, one of said walls having a longitudinally extending upwardly opening groove adapted to receive a portion of the suspended curtain or the like, said groove bifurcating said wall, the inner portion of said bifurcated side wall being shorter than the outer portion, and a drain outlet port `through said bifurcated wall communicating with said groove.

9. In a bathtub having substantially vertical ends and drain port, opposed longitudinal walls .formed integrally with said tub, one of said walls having a longitudinally extending upwardly opening groove adapted to receive a portion of the suspended curtain or the like, said groove bifurcating said wall, the inner portion of said bifurcated side wall being shorter than the outer portion; a drain outlet port in said groove; an overflow port in the end wall of said tub; a drain pipe leading therefrom, and a drain pipe connecting said groove drain port and said overow drain pipe.

10. A bathtub having a substantially iiat bottom and opposed vertically extending longitudinal side Walls, one of said side walls having a relatively deep longitudinally extending groove therein to provide for retention of a portion of a ilexible curtain, the inner portion of said grooved wall having a plurality-of spaced apart apertures therethrough providing drain outlet port leading from said groove to the interior of the tub.

ll. In a bathtub having a bottom drain outlet and an upper overflow outlet; drain pipes connected to said outlet and overiiow ports; one ci the longitudinal walls of said tub being grooved centrally thereof thereby biiurcating said wall to provide a compartment for reception of a curtain edge; a drain pipe connection between said groove and said first mentioned drain pipes; and retaining means in the end walls of said tub at opposite ends of said groove for releasably mounting a curtain retaining rod therein.

l2. In a bathtub having a bottom drain outlet and an upper` overflow outlet;` drain pipes connected to said outlet and overflow ports; one of the longitudinal Walls of said tub being grooved centrally thereof thereby bifurcating said Wall to provide a compartment for reception of a curtain edge; a drain pipe connection between said groove and said rst mentioned drain pipes; and retaining means in the end walls of said tub at opposite ends of said groove for releasably mountingv a curtain retaining rod therein, said rod adapted to be mounted in said retaining means.

` 13. In a combined bathtub and shower curtain construction, a bathtub having a drain outlet port 

